In Travis County custody case, jury will search fo

At a recent pretrial hearing, attorney Randall Wilhite told state District Judge Orlinda Naranjo that using his client Alex Jones’ on-air Infowars persona to evaluate Alex Jones as a father would be like judging Jack Nicholson in a custody dispute based on his performance as the Joker in “Batman.” “ He’s playing a character,” Wilhite said of Jones. “He is a performance artist. ”But in emotional testimony...http://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--reg...FCd5SOPgP3A34J/In Travis County custody case, jury will search for real Alex Jonesstate-government By Jonathan Tilove - American-Statesman Staff Inform News. Coming Up...Who is the real Alex Jones in custody battle? http://www.mystatesman.com/rf/image_medium...-8.50.56-PM.jpg

On October 8, Alex Jones delivers a message to Donald Trump from above the Pennybacker Bridge in West Austin, saying Trump needed to viciously attack Hillary Clinton at the second presidential debate the next night or get out of the race.Posted: 1:50 p.m. Sunday, April 16, 2017

Highlights

Alex Jones and his ex-wife, Kelly, will be locked in a child custody trial the next two weeks in Austin.

Alex Jones’ lawyers will make the case that their client should not be judged by his on-air persona.

Lawyers for Kelly Jones will maintain that Jones’ public outbursts suggest he is not a fit parent.

At a recent pretrial hearing, attorney Randall Wilhite told state District Judge Orlinda Naranjo that using his client Alex Jones’ on-air Infowars persona to evaluate Alex Jones as a father would be like judging Jack Nicholson in a custody dispute based on his performance as the Joker in “Batman.”

“He’s playing a character,” Wilhite said of Jones. “He is a performance artist.”

But in emotional testimony at the hearing, Kelly Jones, who is seeking to gain sole or joint custody of her three children with Alex Jones, portrayed the volcanic public figure as the real Alex Jones.

“He’s not a stable person,” she said of the man with whom her 14-year-old son and 9- and 12-year-old daughters have lived since her 2015 divorce. “He says he wants to break Alec Baldwin’s neck. He wants J-Lo to get raped.

“I’m concerned that he is engaged in felonious behavior, threatening a member of Congress,” she said, referring to his recent comments about California Democrat Adam Schiff. “He broadcasts from home. The children are there, watching him broadcast.”

Beginning Monday, a jury will be selected at the Travis County Courthouse that in the next two weeks will be asked to sort out whether there is a difference between the public and private Alex Jones, and whether, when it comes to his fitness as a parent, it matters.

For Naranjo, who has been the presiding judge of the 419th District Court since January 2006, it is about keeping her eyes, and the jury’s eyes, on the children.

“This case is not about Infowars, and I don’t want it to be about Infowars,” Naranjo told the top-shelf legal talent enlisted in Jones v. Jones at the last pretrial hearing Wednesday. “I am in control of this court, not your clients.”

But for Alex Jones, at the peak of his power and influence, what emerges from the art deco courthouse on Guadalupe Street might shape whether he comes to be seen by his faithful as more prophet or showman.

Infowars as evidence

Alex Jones is an Austin original who, 21 years after he got his own show on Austin public access television, has become an unlikely popular and political force in the Donald Trump era, an ingenious and indefatigable conjurer of conspiracy theories about sinister global elites seeking to enslave the masses, who found, in Trump, a hero open to his shadowy narratives.

“Alex Jones and his Infowars’ umbrella of radio shows, YouTube and Facebook broadcasts, Internet website and tweets turned out to be Trump’s secret weapon,” Roger Stone, probably Trump’s oldest and closest political confidant, wrote in his book “The Making of the President 2016.” “His fiery words have struck a chord in the nation and he speaks for millions. In fact, more people follow Alex than watch Fox News or CNN.”

In addition to broadcasting his radio show on some 150 stations, Infowars.com had 7.6 million global unique visitors between March 16 and April 14 according to Quantcast, which measures web audiences and ranked Infowars.com 387th among all U.S. websites, not far behind Texas.gov, MLB.com and PBS.org.

The Alex Jones YouTube channel has more than 2 million subscribers and more than 1.2 billion video views.

But Jones’ most important listener is the president of the United States.

During the campaign and into his presidency, many of Trump’s most defining themes and questionable assertions either originated with or were popularized by Infowars: Hillary Clinton for prison. Hillary Clinton is gravely ill. Bill Clinton is a rapist. President Barack Obama founded ISIS. The election is rigged. Millions of immigrants voted illegally. The news media covers up terrorist attacks. The “fake news media … is the enemy of the people.” Obama spied on Trump.

In December 2015, thanks to Stone, Trump appeared via Skype on Jones’ show.

“Your reputation is amazing,” Trump told Jones. “I will not let you down.”

Since Trump became president, Jones has purported on air to be in regular direct telephone contact with the president, apologizing for not always being able to answer the phone when the president calls. Last week, Jones said that the president had invited him to Mar-a-Lago but that he had to beg off because of family obligations.

Recently, Jones faulted Trump for falling for the “false flag” that it was the Syrian government, and not its enemies, that deployed chemical weapons against civilians, but he says he understands the political expedience involved and remains hopeful that Trump will reclaim the anti-globalist mantle.

Naranjo, meanwhile, said she had never seen or heard Jones on Infowars until Wednesday’s hearing, when Kelly Jones’ legal team started previewing Infowars videos it would like to play for the jury.

The first was a clip from a July 2015 broadcast in which Jones had his son, then 12, on to play the latest of some 15 or 20 videos he had made with the help of members of the Infowars team who, Jones said, had “taken him under their wing” during summer days spent at the South Austin studio between stints at tennis and Christian camps.

“He is undoubtedly cut out for this, and I intend for him to eclipse what I’ve done. He’s a way greater person than I was at 12,” said Jones, turning to his son. “I love you so much, and I didn’t mean to get you up here, sweetheart, and tell people how much I love you, but you’re so handsome, and you’re a good little knight who’s going to grow up, I know, to be a great fighter against the enemy.”

“So far this looks like good stuff,” Wilhite said. Naranjo OK’d it for viewing by the jury.

But Bobby Newman, the attorney for Kelly Jones guiding the court through the Infowars clips, was laying the groundwork for the argument that there is no separation between Alex Jones, father, and Alex Jones, Infowarrior.

“This is the world he has planned for his kids,” said Newman, quoting Alex Jones at a recent hearing insisting that what he says on the air is what he believes.

﻿SOCIAL MEDIA REACTS: What people are saying about Alex Jones

Next up was a video of a recent conversation between Jones and Stone on Infowars that quickly escalated into an expletive-studded, gay-bashing rant by Jones directed at Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee investigation of Trump’s Russia ties, in which, Schiff has suggested, Stone and Jones might be entangled.

Jones’ rant ends: “You got that, you goddamn son of a b****? Fill your hand,” echoing John Wayne’s warning in True Grit” to a man he’s about to shoot and kill.

“This is nothing but a response to a congressman who called him a Russian spy,” said David Minton, another lawyer representing Alex Jones.

“What possible relevance does that have?” Minton asked. “They want to throw the stench in the jury box and never get the stench out. It has nothing to do with parenting.”

A few days after his Schiff riff, Jones characterized it on-air as “clearly tongue-in-cheek and basically art performance, as I do in my rants, which I admit I do, as a form of art.”

“When I say, ‘I’m going to kick your ass,’ it’s the Infowar,” Jones said. “I say every day we’re going to destroy you with the truth.”

Jones’ rhetoric is perpetually at a pugilistic fever pitch.

Back in March, after Baldwin, playing Trump on “Saturday Night Live,” said he got his information on aliens from Alex Jones, Jones challenged Baldwin to a million-dollar charity bout — “I’ll get in the ring with you, and I will break your jaw, I will knock your teeth out, I will break your nose, and I will break your neck.”

When, just after the election, Jennifer Lopez lamented about Trump at the Grammys, Jones responded that Trump “doesn’t want to bring people in from Somalia where women are sold on slave blocks. Why don’t you go to Somalia for five minutes, lady; you’ll be gang-raped so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

Naranjo said she wouldn’t allow the jury to hear the Schiff diatribe, but she allowed two other clips, including one showing Alex Jones smoking marijuana in California, where it is legal. Naranjo didn’t review the Baldwin and Lopez clips, and it’s not clear whether Kelly Jones’ attorneys will seek to include them in the trial.

Big legal bills

Every record in the Jones case has been under seal since the divorce proceeding was initiated in Hays County in 2013. In January, the court denied Kelly Jones’ motion to unseal the record, granting a motion by Alex Jones — or simply A.J., as he is known in all the court filings — to keep them sealed

For good measure, Naranjo said last week she was placing a gag order on all the litigants.

At the previous pretrial hearing, on April 7, Naranjo ruled against Kelly Jones and her lawyers on a couple of key motions.

Earlier this year, her lawyers had moved to add to the trial a $7 million emotional distress tort claim against Alex Jones.

His lawyers said it was too late to prepare a defense against a new claim with 172 separate allegations. Naranjo agreed and promised to expedite a second trail on the tort claim.

“They’d like to drag it out for two years, and she’ll be crushed and she’ll be bankrupt,” said Robert Hoffman, the Houston attorney who is Kelly Jones’ lead counsel, in arguing for rolling the tort claim into the trial.

“She already is, for all practical purposes,” said Hoffman, who said she owed his firm $200,000, about all she had in the bank.

Her attorneys also filed a motion to require Alex Jones to help pay her interim legal fees to better enable her to rescue her children from his clutches.

“I don’t think there’s another case in Travis County with three children whose welfare hangs in the balance like this, except maybe a (Child Protective Services) case,” Hoffman said.

“This is a wonderful mother who has had her kids turned against her,” Hoffman said.

Wilhite said the crux of Kelly Jones’ problem is that she has gone through one set of lawyers after another and some $3.5 million since her divorce settlement, much of it pursuing fruitless motion after motion that actually cost her access to her children each step of the way.

And she already receives $43,000 a month from her ex-husband.

Naranjo rejected the motion that Alex Jones should have to contribute more, noting that the average Travis County juror won’t understand why Kelly Jones’ monthly stipend is not enough to cover her legal bills.

“It is not within the realm of experience of their lives,” Naranjo said.

”They are not going to believe the amount of money that has been spent on this,” the judge said.

“This case is not about Infowars,” Naranjo said. “But, for some reason, this family has done very well. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be five lawyers on one side of the table and three over here, because of the business this family is in.”

Meanwhile, Alex Jones has remarried, and his new wife is expecting a child, who, his lawyers said, might arrive during the trial.

Actually, I read this article before it appeared here on this forum. To be honest, I don't really care how much of Alex Jones "showmanship" is contained in Infowars. That ingredient is present with a number of talk show hosts as a part of their on air persona to gain more followers. My personal opinion is that Jones would do well to tone down his showmanship so as not to detract from content.Most of what he presents comes from mainstream media outlets in this country and abroad. It's not made up! He goes to the back pages and digs out articles that many people disregard.As to the controversy surrounding his child custody dispute, with all the negative stuff being said about Jones, I found it interesting that his ex-wife has spent the better part of "$3.5 million" from her divorce settlement in "fruitless" motion after motion that resulted in her losing custody of her kids! And, $43,000 per month she's getting from her ex-husband? Really? With all of that, do you think that there may be another side to this story that isn't being told?Now, I don't agree with Alex Jones on everything, but, it is no great surprise to me that he is being portrayed the way he is by leftists in the media. He has been quite successful in getting out a lot of pertinent information to the public in the face of the disinformation being spewed by the mainstream media! The leftist media (CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.) have consistently lied to the American people on a whole host of issues, and outlets like InfoWars, Breitbart, World Net Daily, and a few others have exposed their lies! This is why the state run media has come out fighting the way they have! The fake news and false narratives no longer have the attention of discerning Americans!It is no surprise to me that an attack on Alex Jones would be found on this witch hunting forum! And no surprise that the leanings of Brett and others here are decidedly to the Left! Disseminating the truth and facts have never been the concern of DiscussGGWO....only the ends justifying the means! Sound familiar??

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt"

onandup it doesn't take much to keep you busy...

And no surprise that the leanings of Brett and others here are decidedly to the Left!

onandup I am not a left wing Democrat and I am not a right wing Republican... None of those belief systems mean a damn thing to me...

It is no surprise to me that an attack on Alex Jones would be found on this witch hunting forum!

The dude is a fraud and a clown... Just like Donald Trump... Yet you are too impenetrable to realize it....

Disseminating the truth and facts have never been the concern of DiscussGGWO....only the ends justifying the means! Sound familiar??

Now the toilet is calling the tub white...

By the way at this time I have no hard feelings toward GGWO or anyone else for that matter.I do not care about ancient water under the bridge. However It is discouraging to see that non-thinking individuals like you exist...

"The dude is a fraud and a clown." Well, clown is simply a pejorative, an epithet, so we can throw that one out. Now, fraud. Hmm. Got any proof of that, or is it just another silly little insult?As to nonthinking, how much thought does it take to throw empty insults? Uh, a five year old can do that!You have a nice weekend also!

Umm. Can you read? The original post contains proof as stated in open court.

onandup there are two things you need to know:

1) This web site was started to help people. You come here to gum it up so to speak.

2) There is no demonic, left wing, media driven conspiracy to persecute you for your religious or political views. Nutty behavior will be called out. Can you grasp this? Nutty behavior will be called out. Read it again: nutty behavior will be called out. I suggest that you make an effort to increase your vocabulary and improve your reading comprehension.

Well, Brett, if I can't read then apparently you can't either. I asked for proof that he is a "fraud". The article you posted is about a custody case that is still in the process of being adjudicated! And if you are sharp enough to notice (doubtful), that the "proof" given in court has so far been "fruitless". Jones exwife has already lost motion after motion and has spent the better part of her $3.5 million settlement in legal fees. So far there hasn't been any veracity given to the "proof"!

1) This website was started to destroy people, NOT help them!

2) I never mentioned anything "demonic", nor did I make reference to any kind of "persecution"! Nutty behavior or not, I don't give a diddly damn! I listen to Infowars for the content of information which, though I don't always agree, I find most of it to be well researched and documented!Increase my vocabulary? I would say that I am as articulate as you, and my reading ability got me to college. How about you?

No surprise that Brett hasn't replied. No ammunition except duds.An update: notice how the mainstream media has had nothing to say about Alex Jones's custody battle? Well, that's because he won it hands down! So much for fake news and Brett's hit piece!

Uh...hello...! What's the title of this thread? And I don't really care how much Jones hypes up his performance as long as he's providing the information we can't get from the lame stream media.

Oh, and you really care about the "CAUSE OF CHRIST" after being a part of this evil anti-Christian rant site? I highly doubt it! For my part I am willing to stand before God Almighty having defended friends and fellow believers from "nut jobs" like you than to face Him having said nothing!

When I became a christian in 1975 (South Berwick) I knew almost nothing about politics at all. It was a completely different subject than the bible etc. Carl Stevens never mentioned it so I knew the same amount when I left in 1983. Like most of Christianity it wasn't a we-are-of-God-and-they-of-the-devil. ALL OF A SUDDEN PRESTO! EVERYONE is talking about Republican vs Democrat etc. WHY? Because Jerry Falwell etc started the bandwagon. Now its as much a part of churches as Jesus and Paul. It is ridiculous. Religion and politics are two different areas. Most Christians don't even understand basic civics yet have BIG opinions on which party is of God. (Maybe not you Onandup, but many) They watch cable news channels like CNN or Fox and think they know all about the issues. When push comes to shove Republicans often do what they accuse Democrats of. Democrats often do what they accuse Republicans of. They ALL take money from special interests like Banks, Insurance companies, Drugs companies etc This forum should be for discussing GGWO and Christianity, not politics.